Who by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!"
It's been a practice of mine for as long as I can remember. I always try
to make it to a cemetery on All Saints Day. To be sure, on occasion I've
actually been officiating at a funeral on the first of November so I'm
already there, but usually I have to carve an hour out of my day to drive
over myself. Lots of years I would walk through and look for the names
of parishioners… some known to me and some not. But in these last years,
I've driven over to Fairview in DeKalb where my dad is buried…. And where
I don't have to walk far to find the names of others who also helped shape
my faith as a child. To be sure, this habit of mine is a sharp contrast
to the triumphant strains of the All Saints Day hymn we sing in just a few
days. Even so, somehow the quiet reflection readies my heart for singing.
It was a beautiful day for such a walk yesterday… I can remember lots of
early November days when I was bundled up against the cold or the rain,
but the sky was blue and the sun was bright yesterday afternoon. So
yesterday I lingered some --- stooping to pull some of the stray grass
that creeps up around my dad's stone and then walking to look for the
names of others… I had forgotten that Helen Whitney was buried just a few
feet away. My mother tells me that she was my first Sunday School teacher
although I confess, I don't really remember. Helen died the year I was
ordained a pastor. And so I wondered standing at her grave if she knew
that the faith she shared was still being passed on. For even though I
can't actually remember time in her classroom I know that such people are
pivotal in shaping faith in little ones.
So I'm wondering today, who are those people for you? Who are those whose
presence, whose gifts enabled you also to "confess the name of Jesus
before the world?" If you can, mark this week of All Saints Day and find
your way to a cemetery. Pause to read the names and dates and the witness
those pieces of granite offer. If it's the cemetery of your childhood or
youth, all the better, but it doesn't have to be, for such places hold a
thousand, thousand memories pointing to a thousand, thousand such gifts
--- markers of those who have passed on the faith. And know this. You
are part of them and they are part of you: all of us who confess Jesus and
who raise up others to do the same. What a blessing to be among those who
give thanks to God for this and so many other gifts!
Peace to you and many blessings!
Pastor Janet
Coming up at Salem:
November 6-7 Come to worship this All Saints Day Week-end where we'll be
lighting candles in memory of loved ones who have died at all three
services.
November 7 Lasting Gifts: At the 9:15 Fellowship Time in Fellowship Hall
we will share together in conversation about funeral planning. What goes
into it? How can you give your children and grandchildren 'one more
lasting gift' by putting your wishes on paper?
Sunday, November 14, Salem Lutheran and Bethlehem Lutheran (DeKalb) are
hosting Peter Eide in concert here at Salem at 6:30 p.m. Buy your tickets
now before and after all services this week-end or by calling Lauri
Paulsen at 815-895-8416. Cost is $8/ticket or $24/family.
Sunday, November 21, Salem's Global Missions Committee will be holding an
authentic Tanzanian style auction in fellowship hall at 9:15 a.m.
Proceeds will go to benefit our companion parish, the Kijenge Lutheran
Parish in Arusha, Tanzania. Be sure to bring something to be auctioned
off. Items like baked goods produce, and handcrafted items, to name a
few, will do! (In Tanzania, you would see things like grain, sugar cane,
and chickens!) Come along and join in the fun!
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